Find the area of the ellipse given by $x^2 + 6x + 4y^2 - 8y + 9 = 0.$
Answer: Completing the square in $x$ and $y,$ we get
\[(x + 3)^2 + 4(y - 1)^2 = 4.\]Then
\[\frac{(x + 3)^2}{4} + \frac{(y - 1)^2}{1} = 1,\]so the semi-major axis is 2, the semi-minor axis is 1, and the area is then $\boxed{2 \pi}.$